Job openings reached an all-time high on the last day of June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary… (BLS)
- Job openings increased 590,000 to a series high of 10.1 million on the last business day of June, which caused the job openings rate to rise to 6.5%.
- The South region leads the way with 3.8 million job openings followed by the West (2.23M), the Midwest (2.21M), and the Northeast (1.7M).
NOTE: Professional and business services saw the biggest increase of job openings at 227,000 followed by retail trade (+133,000), and accommodation and food services (+121,000).
Hires and separation jumped in June highlighting the power shift between employees and employers…
- HIRES were up 697,000 in June to 6.7 million with the biggest increase in retail trade (+291,000) followed by state and local government education (+94,000); and durable goods manufacturing (+36,000).
- SEPARATIONS were up 254,000 in June to 5.6 million with the biggest increase in professional and business services (+124,000), durable goods manufacturing (+48,000), and state and local government (+30,000)
NOTE: The South leads the way with hires up 2.6 million in June followed by the Midwest (1.6M), the West (1.47M), and the Northeast (+978k). The South also lead when it came to separations with 2.2 million in June followed by the West (+1.22M), the Midwest (+1.21M), and the Northeast (+795k).
Any way you look at it the South is the place to be. They had the most job openings, the most hires, and the most separations. However, it is really the same story across the country. Almost every business is looking to hire and can’t seem to fill any of the positions. So what is happening?
- A lot of people have blamed generous unemployment benefits for keeping people on their couches. The problem with that is report last month found that states that cut unemployment benefits did not see a statistically significant increase in job seekers (CNBC)
If it’s not generous unemployment benefits keeping people at home what is the problem? Childcare. The New York Times last week reported on the struggle parents are currently going through…
- “Many parents of preschool-aged children face a shortage of child care openings. One-third of child care centers never reopened, research shows; those that are still closed disproportionately served Asian, Latino and Black families. Those that opened are operating at 70 percent capacity, on average. They have struggled to hire qualified teachers; must keep classes small to limit exposure to the virus; and have raised prices to cover new health and cleaning measures.”
Without viable childcare options for millions of parents across the country, it’s hard to see a situation where these job openings get filled and the economy gets back to pre-pandemic employment levels.